"By bringing together science, intelligence and technology we can unravel where a firearm has been used, by whom and why."

He added: "By giving investigative officers these tools, Nabis will help bring more people to justice, get more guns off the streets, and ultimately prevent them from being obtained in the first instance."

Det Supt Alan Buchanan, chair of the criminal use of firearms group for the chief police officers' association, said: "Although gun crime is rare and accounts for less than 1% of all crime in Scotland, whenever a gun is fired or used by a criminal it has an impact.

"We are determined to tackle the use of guns on our streets.

"Nabis will give us vital intelligence and forensic information right at the beginning of our investigation, helping us to bring more people to justice and make our streets safer."